Our History
Almost 50 years... that's a long time. Since our inception in 1974, much has changed. Browse our history to see how we started and our journey through the decades.
1974
Dan Morrow opens Morrow Graphics at 3005 James Street in Eastwood, NY as a service bureau catering to architects and engineers utilizing a new process called xerography. A Xerox 7000 with 50 sorting bins is the centerpiece of the operation.
The new company eventually grows into the largest producer of architectural specification documents in the region.
A reputation is born...
1977
After a fire at the Eastwood location, which burned off the second floor of the building, Dan moves the business to a new location at 635 James Street. The fire was devastating and a total loss but, before long, Morrow Graphics was back in business. A pair of Xerox 9200 duplicators were installed, each with recirculating original feeders and auto duplex capability. The machines ran at 110 pages per minute each.
1982
Morrow Graphics purchases, renovates, and moves into a three-story office building on South Salina Street in downtown Syracuse. The installation of two brand new Xerox 9500 duplicators are also a highlight that year.
1991
Morrow Graphics installs the first Xerox DocuTech Production Publisher for commercial use in New York State and becomes a pioneer in print-on-demand. The company is selected by Xerox as an alpha-test site to develop a product called Extended Storage, a device that enabled unlimited storage capacity of the Xerox DocuTech.
Pages are scanned from hard-copy originals and digitally stored on an 8mm magnetic tape for later retrieval. By 1993 Morrow counts over 15,000 documents (from 1 to 1000 pages each) electronically stored on tape for their clients, ready to print... on-demand!
1993
Morrow Graphics replaces a client's 15,000 square feet of warehouse space that housed their document inventory with a single, 9.1 GB optical drive. The client reduces their document management and production costs by over $80,000 annually.
Optical disks eventually replaced the hundreds of 8mm tapes as the medium of choice to archive, store, and retrieve document files for printing on demand.
1999
25 years in... Morrow Graphics outgrows their building on S. Salina Street in downtown Syracuse. They purchase, renovate, and move into a 12,000 sq. ft. building at 901 James Street, making it the third time the business would be located on that street. Business has grown every year since '74.
2000
On the Internet, dialing up at 28.8 kbps, Morrow Graphics is one of the first printers in the country to utilize an on-line web-portal which enables their customers to access, manage, upload, proof, and order their documents online. True Pioneers! Print-on-demand would not be possible without Internet-enabled tools like these and Morrow Graphics had them first.
More Xerox gear! Two Xerox 6135 printers are installed along with a Bourg 25-bin collator/folder/stitcher/trimmer, nicknamed "the freight train".
2005
Morrow Graphics launches Xstream121 to market full-color variable-data printing to companies needing better ROI on their direct mail efforts. Utilizing the personal information contained in customer's databases, Xstream121 is a powerful tool for communicating with printed material... one-to-one. A Xerox 6060 Color Printer is acquired and pressed into service, producing thousands of personalized marketing pages for customers.
2009
Xerographic technology is changing and improving rapidly. Morrow Graphics installs state-of-the-art monochrome print engines from Xerox's Nuvera series that utilize organic, emulsion aggregate toner. Resolutions have increased to 600x1200dpi while print speeds are nearly 150 pages per minute, per device.
Capacity is growing and print-on-demand has caught on. Over 70% of the company's client base is utilizing print-on-demand, while architects and engineers, who were 100% of the company's business in the beginning, make up only 15% of the company's revenue.
2010New Paragraph
The next generation... James Morrow, Dan's son, officially takes over the business in January. The company has grown considerably since the beginning and Jim has enormous shoes to fill.
Automation is beginning to make an impact. Digital workflows bring new efficiencies and decrease turn-around times. Inline finishing systems are also improving quality and adding to the print-on-demand arsenal. A perfect binding book factory is added with automated three-knife trimming and cover creasing.
2012
Full color explosion: Morrow Graphics installs state-of-the-art digital color presses from Xerox with outstanding image quality and other features. Since the first monochrome (black & white) printers/duplicators were installed in the 1970s, full-color devices are now making almost half of the total impressions at Morrow Graphics.
2016
Full-color reproduction is in full-swing with huge increases in volume coming from training and educational markets. Fine artists are taking advantage of print-on-demand for production of greeting cards, calendars, and catalogs. In-house graphic design capabilities, which have always been a part of the services offered at Morrow Graphics, have given the power of color to the company's client base.
2020New Paragraph
COVID-19 and the global pandemic threatenes the company, while countless businesses, in and out of the printing industry, close for good. While severely impacted by world-wide shut downs, Morrow Graphics maintains the employment of all staff and remains open throughout 2019 and 2020. Although revenue is cut in half instantly due to the shutdown, Morrow Graphics invests in new equipment with a plan to bounce back stronger than ever with the latest in technology. A Nuvera 200 perfecting monochrome press, coupled with a Watkiss Powersquare 224 is added to the company's fleet. The Powersquare bookletmaker can finish a saddle-stitched booklet with over 200 pages!
We've been helping companies save real money for almost 50 years.
©2023 Morrow Graphics. All rights reserved.